We determine the global star formation rate (SFR) density at 0.7 < z < 1.9 using emission-line-selected galaxies identified in Hubble Space Telescope-Near Infrared Camera and Multi-Object Spectrograph (HST-NICMOS) grism spectroscopy observations. Observing in a pure parallel mode throughout HST Cycles 12 and 13, our survey covers similar to 104 arcmin(2) from which we select 80 galaxies with likely redshifted H alpha emission lines. In several cases, a somewhat weaker [O III] doublet emission is also detected. The Ha luminosity range of the emission-line galaxy sample is 4.4 x 10(41) < L(H alpha) < 1.5 x 10(43) erg s(-1). In this range, the luminosity function is well described by a Schechter function with phi* = ( 4.24 +/- 3.55) x 10(-3) Mpc(-3), L* = (2.88 +/- 1.58) x 10(42) erg s(-1), and alpha = -1.39 +/- 0.43. We derive a volume-averaged SFR density of 0.138 +/- 0.058 M(circle dot) yr(-1) Mpc(-3) at z = 1.4 without an extinction correction. Subdividing the redshift range, we find SFR densities of 0.088 +/- 0.056 M(circle dot) yr(-1) Mpc(-3) at z = 1.1 and 0.265 +/- 0.174 M(circle dot) yr(-1) Mpc(-3) at z = 1.6. The overall star formation rate density is consistent with previous studies using Ha when the same average extinction correction is applied, confirming that the cosmic peak of star formation occurs at z > 1.5.

We present a structural characterization of solid germane (GeH4) under pressure from first-principles calculations. We find that this material undertakes a structural transformation from its low-pressure P2(1)/c phase to high-pressure Cmmm phase at about 15GPa where insulator-metal transition occurs, followed by two other metallic phases having the P2(1)/m and C2/c structure at up to 200GPa. Our results indicate that the metallization of GeH4 can be realized through band overlap within the material itself. Copyright (c) EPLA, 2010

We report the first results from the Hubble Infrared Pure Parallel Imaging Extragalactic Survey, which utilizes the pure parallel orbits of the Hubble Space Telescope to do deep imaging along a large number of random sightlines. To date, our analysis includes 26 widely separated fields observed by the Wide Field Camera 3, which amounts to 122.8 arcmin(2) in total area. We have found three bright Y-098-dropouts, which are candidate galaxies at z greater than or similar to 7.4. One of these objects shows an indication of peculiar variability and its nature is uncertain. The other two objects are among the brightest candidate galaxies at these redshifts known to date (L > 2L*). Such very luminous objects could be the progenitors of the high-mass Lyman break galaxies observed at lower redshifts (up to z similar to 5). While our sample is still limited in size, it is much less subject to the uncertainty caused by "cosmic variance" than other samples because it is derived using fields along many random sightlines. We find that the existence of the brightest candidate at z approximate to 7.4 is not well explained by the current luminosity function (LF) estimates at z approximate to 8. However, its inferred surface density could be explained by the prediction from the LFs at z approximate to 7 if it belongs to the high-redshift tail of the galaxy population at z approximate to 7.

We present a sample of 17 newly discovered ultracool dwarf candidates later than similar to M8, drawn from 231.90 arcmin(2) of Hubble Space Telescope Wide Field Camera 3 infrared imaging. By comparing the observed number counts for 17.5 <= J(125) <= 25.5 AB mag to an exponential disk model, we estimate a vertical scale height of z(scl) = 290 +/- 25 (random) +/- 31 (systematic) pc for a binarity fraction of f(b) = 0. While our estimate is roughly consistent with published results, we suggest that the differences can be attributed to sample properties, with the present sample containing far more substellar objects than previous work. We predict the object counts should peak at J(125) similar to 24 AB mag due to the exponentially declining number density at the edge of the disk. We conclude by arguing that trend in scale height with spectral type may breakdown for brown dwarfs since they do not settle onto the main sequence.

Carbon can exist as isolated dumbbell, 1D chain, 2D plane, and 3D network in carbon solids or carbon-based compounds, which attributes to its rich chemical binding way, including sp-, sp(2)-, and sp(3)-hybridized bonds. sp(2)-hybridizing carbon always captures special attention due to its unique physical and chemical property. Here, using an evolutionary algorithm in conjunction with ab initio method, we found that, under compression, dumbbell carbon in CaC2 can be polymerized first into 1D chain and then into ribbon and further into 2D graphite sheet at higher pressure. The C2/m structure transforms into an orthorhombic Cmcm phase at 0.5 GPa, followed by another orthorhombic Immm phase, which is stabilized in a wide pressure range of 15.2-105.8 GPa and then forced into MgB2-type phase with wide range stability up to at least 1 TPa. Strong electron-phonon coupling. in compressed CaC2 is found, in particular for Immm phase, which has the highest lambda value (0.562-0.564) among them, leading to its high superconducting critical temperature T-c (7.9 similar to 9.8 K), which is comparable with the 11.5 K value of CaC6. Our results show that calcium not only can stabilize carbon sp(2) hybridization at a larger range of pressure but also can contribute in superconducting behavior, which would further ignite experimental and theoretical interest in alkaline-earth metal carbides to uncover their peculiar physical properties under extreme conditions.

We present the results of a Palomar Transient Factory (PTF) archival search for blue transients that lie in the magnitude range between "normal" core-collapse and superluminous supernovae (i.e., with -21 <= M-R ((peak)) <= -19). Of the six events found after excluding all interacting Type IIn and Ia-CSM supernovae, three (PTF09ge, 09axc, and 09djl) are coincident with the centers of their hosts, one (10iam) is offset from the center, and a precise offset cannot be determined for two (10nuj and 11glr). All the central events have similar rise times to the He-rich tidal disruption candidate PS1-10jh, and the event with the best-sampled light curve also has similar colors and power-law decay. Spectroscopically, PTF09ge is He-rich, while PTF09axc and 09djl display broad hydrogen features around peak magnitude. All three central events are in low star formation hosts, two of which are E+A galaxies. Our spectrum of the host of PS1-10jh displays similar properties. PTF10iam, the one offset event, is different photometrically and spectroscopically from the central events, and its host displays a higher star formation rate. Finding no obvious evidence for ongoing galactic nuclei activity or recent star formation, we conclude that the three central transients likely arise from the tidal disruption of a star by a supermassive black hole. We compare the spectra of these events to tidal disruption candidates from the literature and find that all of these objects can be unified on a continuous scale of spectral properties. The accumulated evidence of this expanded sample strongly supports a tidal disruption origin for this class of nuclear transients.

Julia scripts and other code for reproducing the figures in the manuscript "Eco-evolutionary emergence of macroecological scaling in plankton communities". See the file 'Readme.txt' for instructions for running the scripts. Copyright: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International

Julia scripts and other code for reproducing the figures in the manuscript "Eco-evolutionary emergence of macroecological scaling in plankton communities". See the file 'Readme.txt' for instructions for running the scripts. Copyright: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International

Vegetation and precipitation are known to fundamentally influence each other. However, this interdependence is not fully represented in climate models because the characteristics of land surface (canopy) conductance to water vapor and CO2 are determined independently of precipitation. Working within a coupled atmosphere and land modelling framework (CAM6/CLM5; coupled Community Atmosphere Model v6/Community Land Model v5), we have developed a new theoretical approach to characterizing land surface conductance by explicitly linking its dynamic properties to local precipitation, a robust proxy for moisture available to vegetation. This will enable regional surface conductance characteristics to shift fluidly with climate change in simulations, consistent with general principles of co-evolution of vegetation and climate. Testing within the CAM6/CLM5 framework shows that climate simulations incorporating the new theory outperform current default configurations across several error metrics for core output variables when measured against observational data. In climate simulations for the end of this century the new, adaptive stomatal conductance scheme provides a revised prognosis for average and extreme temperatures over several large regions, with increased primary productivity through central and east Asia, and higher rainfall through North Africa and the Middle East. The new projections also reveal more frequent heatwaves than originally estimated for the south-eastern US and sub-Saharan Africa but less frequent heatwaves across east Europe and northeast Asia. These developments have implications for evaluating food security and risks from extreme temperatures in areas that are vulnerable to climate change.